- IRGC claims strike on oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz
Source: L’Orient Today [Lebanon]
“Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Friday they struck an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to state news agency IRNA, as a British maritime agency also reported an attack. Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the strategic strait as Washington continues pressing its counter-blockade of Iranian ports during the Middle East war. Iran wants to charge ships for passage, attacking vessels it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route.” (09/18/26)
- Russians begin three days of ceremonial “voting” in pre-rigged parliamentary “election”
Source: Associated Press
“Russians on Friday began three days of voting in the country’s first wartime parliamentary election, which features virtually no opposition and is all but certain to secure the Kremlin’s political dominance. Authorities spread the election over the weekend in a bid to boost turnout among the 111 million eligible voters and even allowed electronic balloting. Polls opened Friday and will close Sunday. The Kremlin wants the parliamentary election — the first since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — to underline public support for the war and give a veneer of legitimacy to its action. … The liberal Yabloko party, the only registered political entity that dared to criticize the war, was removed from the ballot last month by Russia’s Supreme Court, and only has a few dozen candidates in the single-constituency races. Additionally, some anti-war politicians have been imprisoned or forced to flee abroad ahead of the campaign.” (09/18/26)
- US Regime Sanctions Bitcoin Exchange for Handling Iranian Regime’s Hormuz Transit Fees
Source: The Maritim Executive
“The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control has identified and sanctioned an Iranian bitcoin exchange linked to the ‘Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority,’ a front company that enables the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ fee-for-transit scheme for the Strait of Hormuz. In March, just weeks after the U.S.-Israeli strikes began, Iranian forces began an informal practice of charging safe-passage fees for the Strait of Hormuz at a rumored rate of up to $2 million per transit. This was later formalized as an ‘insurance’ fee payment, handled by ‘Hormuz Safe’ and the similar ‘Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company.’ … In a follow-up action announced Thursday, the Treasury said that it was also sanctioning BitBank, a cryptocurrency handling service used by HormuzSafe to process payments.” (09/17/26)
- Judge orders Trump to give 30 days’ notice before any “demolition” at Kennedy Center
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A US federal judge has ruled the Trump administration must give 30 days’ notice before any ‘demolition’ occurs to the Kennedy Center, as President Donald Trump warned the Washington DC performing arts venue could be ‘ripped down’. The order comes after Trump was photographed onboard Air Force One looking at a poster with a headline that appeared to tout the demolition of the site. US District Judge Christopher Cooper ordered a detailed report of the centre’s ‘temporary closure’ for emergency repairs, and for written notice of any change to the scope of the project. In May, Cooper ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the building.” (09/17/26)
- Motion filed to stop carving of Trump’s name into US Institute of Peace building
Source: Politico
“Ousted board members of the U.S. Institute of Peace are asking a federal court to block the imminent carving of President Donald Trump’s name on the headquarters of the nonpartisan institution he sought to dismantle shortly after taking office. Members of the board who were removed by the administration filed an emergency motion Thursday in Washington in a dispute that has echoes of Trump’s effort to place his name on the Kennedy Center. The motion was filed as an emergency petition, alleging that a contractor has already been selected to carve Trump’s name into the Constitution Avenue headquarters that the administration sought to shutter as part of the Elon Musk-led DOGE effort to shrink the government.” (09/17/26)
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/09/17/trump-carving-us-institute-of-peace-01083535
- UN mission finds grounds to believe US regime committed war, Iranian regime committed crimes against humanity
Source: CBC News [Canadian state media]
“A United Nations fact-finding mission on Iran said Thursday it had reasonable grounds to believe the United States was behind two military strikes on a school and sports facility in Iran in February, and that these constituted war crimes. It also found that Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity during their deadly crackdown on anti-government protests that occurred just weeks before the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28. The findings in a new report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, examined the American conduct during the Iran war that began in February and the Iranian government’s response to nationwide unrest that began in late December.” (09/17/26)
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/un-report-us-strikes-iran-protests-9.7347566
- Bank of England Holds Rates Steady but Warns of Higher Inflation
Source: New York Times
“As the war in the Middle East continues to push up energy prices and foster heightened fears about inflation, the Bank of England held interest rates steady on Thursday. The decision to not raise rates this month makes it an outlier among other large global central banks. Policymakers at the central bank held rates at 3.75 percent, where they have been since late last year. The decision was announced a day after data showed inflation in Britain had risen to 3.1 percent in August, the fastest pace of price growth since March, driven by higher gasoline and diesel prices. It also follows the decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates on Wednesday, its first increase in more than three years. But officials at the Bank of England said the protracted conflict in the Middle East was increasing the probability that they would need to raise interest rates soon.” (09/17/260
- Sweden PM Kristersson to Resign After Left-Leaning Opposition Wins Narrow Majority in Election
Source: US News & World Report
“Sweden’s left-leaning opposition won a narrow majority in the country’s national election, a complete vote count showed Thursday. The Swedish Election Authority said the four opposition parties won 176 seats in the 349-seat parliament in Stockholm, the Riksdag, in Sunday’s election. The four parties that make up or support the outgoing conservative-led government took 173 seats. Shortly after the final results were announced, center-right Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he would resign as the head of government in a letter to the parliament’s speaker posted on X.” (09/17/26)
- US claims for unemployment benefits drop to 196k, lowest since mid-July
Source: Newsday
“The number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped sharply last week, another sign that layoffs remain rare and most Americans enjoy job security. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims slid to 196,000, the fewest since mid-July and down from 206,000 the week before. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, dropped to 203,250. Economists had expected claims to come in at 207,500, according to a survey by the data firm FactSet.” (09/17/26)
https://www.newsday.com/business/unemployment-benefits-jobless-claims-layoffs-labor-r81162
- Canadian regime seeks full membership in UK-led military coalition
Source: CTV [Canada]
“Canada has formally applied to join the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force as a full-time member, a bid that London is supporting, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said in a media statement Wednesday. The joint force is a military coalition made up of 10 allied countries focused on NATO’s northern flank. It was assembled in 2014 to create a rapid-response force. Canada’s military has worked with the force in multinational drills but has not been a permanent member of the group.” (09/17/26)
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/canada-seeks-full-membership-in-uk-led-military-coalition/
- Former Syrian official convicted of torture under Assad faces sentencing in US
Source: SFGate
“A former Syrian military official convicted of torturing prisoners during the rule of former President Bashar Assad’s regime is facing a possible decades-long prison sentence in the U.S. A federal judge in Los Angeles is scheduled to sentence Samir Ousman Alsheikh on Thursday. A jury found him guilty in March of one count of conspiracy to commit torture and three counts of torture while in charge of Syria’s infamous Adra Prison from roughly 2005 to 2008.” [editor’s note: Last time I checked, Syria wasn’t a US state or territory, so how would the US courts have jurisdiction in the matter? – TLK] (09/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/former-syrian-official-convicted-of-torture-under-22435876.php
- FL: Mayor says city can’t stop gang activity as businesses report 70% drop in sales
Source: CBS News
“Doral Mayor Christi Fraga is responding to business owners who say increased [ICE gang] activity in the city is frightening customers and workers and taking a significant toll on their businesses. ICE [gang members] were seen Wednesday in different areas of Doral, a city with a large immigrant population. A local social media platform reported that agents [abducted] people at a gas station near Northwest 41st Street and 107th Avenue. Nearby business owners say the presence of [gang members] is having an immediate economic impact. … Fraga told CBS News Miami that she understands the concerns but said local governments have no authority to prevent federal [gang members] from conducting [abduction] operations within their cities.” (09/16/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/doral-ice-enforcement-business-impact-mayor/
- OK: Women Sue Over Being Denied Abortions Despite Fatal Fetal Diagnoses
Source: Common Dreams
“When Sheena Hamlin found out she was pregnant with a daughter she named Ellie, she was ‘very excited’, until her doctors discovered at around 21 weeks that the baby ‘might survive birth, but that her lungs were so severely underdeveloped that she would suffocate almost as soon as the umbilical cord was cut’. ‘The alternative would be to terminate the pregnancy,’ explains a lawsuit filed in state court on Wednesday, but that ‘was not an option in Oklahoma’, where a pair of laws force patients whose ‘pregnancy will end in miscarriage, stillbirth, or the death of an infant shortly after birth’ to leave the state if they choose abortion. … she flew to Illinois for care shortly before Thanksgiving in 2024, and spent nearly $4,000 out of pocket. After the ‘devastating’ experience, the couple ‘underwent genetic testing and confirmed that Ellie had Meckel-Gruber syndrome’.” (09/17/26)
- Israel: Likud seeks to block expats from returning home to vote
Source: The New Arab [UK]
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party on Wednesday petitioned the electoral commission to block initiatives aimed at helping Israelis who live abroad return to vote in upcoming close-fought elections. Israel’s electoral law does not allow citizens residing outside the country to vote abroad, except for diplomats and emissaries sent by certain organisations. The Central Bureau of Statistics estimates there are 600,000 Israelis living abroad. Government opponents have been working for several weeks to encourage voters to come home to cast their ballots, hoping to strengthen the anti-Netanyahu camp in elections scheduled for 27 October. Initiatives include offering discounted plane tickets, assisting expatriates with the administrative procedures required to vote and organising their transport from the airport. Attorney Ilan Bombach, representing Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, filed an appeal on Wednesday with the chairman of the Central Elections Committee demanding an end to these practices.” (09/17/26)
https://www.newarab.com/news/netanyahus-likud-party-seeks-impede-israeli-expat-voting
- Trump withdraws former Oklahoma state trooper Schroyer as his nominee to lead ICE gang
Source: SFGate
“The White House said Thursday that it was withdrawing its nomination of Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ensuring that an agency at the forefront of President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda will remain without a Senate-confirmed leader for at least a while longer. Schroyer is close to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma. He has little experience with immigration. The White House offered no comment in a brief statement. When he nominated Schroyer in June, Trump said on his Truth Social platform that his pick was ‘a PATRIOT with real operational experience’ and a ‘proven leader with DECADES of experience locking up the worst of the worst’. ICE has not had a Senate-confirmed leader since the Obama administration. David Venturella returned to the agency as acting director earlier this year after Todd Lyons resigned.” (09/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/trump-withdraws-lance-schroyer-a-former-oklahoma-22436876.php
- Man accused of ties to bin Laden and tortured after 9/11 has 20-year Gitmo detention reviewed
Source: SFGate
“A man initially accused of being a high-profile al-Qaida figure and who was tortured in CIA custody appeared Thursday at a hearing to review his detention at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he has been held for 20 years without charges. A U.S. government official said Abu Zubaydah, who wore a neatly trimmed beard and glasses, had ‘probably’ served as one of Osama bin Laden’s most trusted facilitators. The roughly 20-minute hearing offered rare visibility into the secretive military court proceedings of a suspect who had been tortured at CIA black sites during the U.S. war on terrorism and whose case still has not been resolved 25 years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Zubaydah’s unidentified government-assigned representative and his private attorney, Annika Conrad, both acknowledged he had known bin Laden, the 9/11 mastermind. But they said Zubaydah was never a member of the militant group that bin Laden founded.” (09/17/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/man-accused-of-ties-to-bin-laden-and-tortured-22436890.php
- Peter Max, 1937-2026
Source: United Press International
“Peter Max, the German-born artist whose art is said to have captured the colorful, psychedelic counterculture spirit of the 1960s, has died, according to reports. He was 88. … Born in Berlin to Jewish parents in 1937, Max and his family fled Nazis Germany for China when he was still an infant, spending several years there during his youth, according to a biography on Max by Park West Gallery, where the pop artist’s work has been sold. In 1953, a 16-year-old Max and his family moved from Europe to Brooklyn … It was during the 1960s and 1970s that he and his art exploded into the mainstream and he produced some of his best-known Pop Art works that would come to define the look and feel of the Flower Power culture of the United States.” (09/17/26)
https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2026/09/17/Peter-Max-obituary/7351789630236/
- American buyers of Indian goods face 100% tariff threat over Russian oil after US House vote
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“For four years, India, one of the world’s biggest oil importers, has turned Russia’s war-driven disruption of global oil markets to its advantage. Russian crude, displaced from western markets after the invasion of Ukraine, has flowed instead to Indian refineries, often at attractive discounts. The arrangement has lowered the cost of one of India’s biggest imports and given its refiners an abundant source of crude. Now that bargain is becoming a source of geopolitical risk. The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation giving President Donald Trump broad powers to impose sanctions on Russia and tariffs of up to 100% on [Americans who buy goods from] countries that buy Russian oil and gas. It will now go to Trump to be signed into law. [Americans who buy goods from] India and China are among those most exposed because both are major buyers of Russian oil.” (09/17/26)
- Argentina: Judge orders suspension of Falklands oil project
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“An Argentinian judge has ordered the suspension of a British-Israeli oil project near the Falkland Islands in a purely symbolic move as Argentina escalates its claim over the British-administered territory. Wednesday’s interim ruling issued by a court in Argentina’s southernmost province, Tierra del Fuego, follows a lawsuit filed by 1982 war veterans and environmental lawyers earlier this month. The plaintiffs sought to block Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum from the Sea Lion oilfield, located about 220km (137 miles) from the islands. … London maintains the islands are British and rejects the jurisdiction of Argentinian courts in the Falklands. The islanders themselves voted overwhelmingly in 2013 to remain British.” (09/17/26)
- CA: New poll shows voters deeply divided over Proposition 40 tax issue
Source: SFGate
“A California billionaire tax proposal is skating toward a narrow win in November according to a poll released Tuesday, although the measure is exposing deep generational divides in the state. A slim 52% of voters support Proposition 40, which would levy a one-time tax on billionaires, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll. The poll found opposition was close behind, with 46% of voters not supporting it. Surveys have found voters consistently support the measure, although the latest PPIC poll shows a slight decrease in support from when the same group asked voters about the measure in the spring. … The measure would levy a one-time 5% tax on the approximately 250 billionaires who lived in the state on Jan. 1, 2026, and it would be owed with their 2026 tax returns, although the billionaires could pay in installments.” [editor’s note: In addition to it being an evil and idiotic idea, the back-dating violates the US Constitution’s prohibition on ex post facto laws – TLK] (09/16/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/california-billionaire-tax-support-22435258.php
- Mike Johnson Proves That No Man’s Life, Liberty or Property are Safe While the Legislature Isn’t in Session
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“[A]s Gideon J. Tucker wrote in 1866, ‘no man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.’ … [Speaker of the House Mike] Johnson seems to have found a way to turn Tucker’s aphorism on its head, frequently using the absence of Congress to protect existing depredations, rather than the presence of Congress to drum up new ones. ‘The House has now canceled at least 63 scheduled voting days this Congress, including nine days this month alone,’ notes US Representative Ralph Norman (R-SC). When Johnson thinks he’s going to lose a vote — with ‘lose’ defined as upsetting or defying president Donald Trump — he just sends everyone home until he can whip a few more House members into line, or at least until the loss might come at a slightly less embarrassing point in the news cycle.” (09/17/26)
- Why Your Generation Was A Casualty
Source: The Findings Substack
by Paul Rosenberg“I’m retirement age, but I think it’s my duty to explain to young people why things are so hard for them. So, from here on I’ll be writing to you, meaning people who are roughly in the 18-45 age range. I’ll also be writing very freely and using a lot of generalities: you’ll have to interpret this for yourself. Let’s start by saying that millions of you have been given a raw deal. I’ve watched this in a great deal of discomfort: You struggle just to rent a house, much less buy one. Jobs come and go like the wind. Your university degree came with an inescapable pile of debt. You have conflicting moral leanings and opinions. All of this isn’t fair. But with that said, organizing your world around a villain is a road to nowhere.” (09/17/26)
https://thefindings.substack.com/p/why-your-generation-was-a-casualty
- Why Republicans Lose Elections And Blame Libertarians
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey“This morning I came across an article critical of Americans voting for Libertarians, as it takes away from Republican wins. I found this interesting because often we are criticized as tilting at windmills and a complete waste of people’s time, yet apparently, according to Edward Ring, we are a critical component in politics. Ring … attempts unsuccessfully to argue that ‘libertarians cause more harm than good.’ Why? Because Americans who vote for Libertarians cause Republican losses. … no political faction owns Americans’ votes. Politicians must earn our vote, and if Republicans and Democrats want Libertarians to vote for them, then they are going to demonstrate that they will protect our civil liberties, be fiscally responsible, and reduce government power. It shouldn’t be much to ask, but Ring doesn’t care about that; he wants Republicans to remain in power, and he views Libertarians as a roadblock and a hindrance.” (09/17/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/why-republicans-lose-elections-and
- Making Economics Humane Again
Source: Law & Liberty
by Paul Mueller“Postliberals as a group have made no secret of the fact that they view mainstream economics as inhumane with its focus on consumption and GDP growth. Sometimes their arguments are questionable, but it’s true that modern economics has a way of embracing a flat, utilitarian view of the world, sometimes pushing that view into realms where it doesn’t belong. But should economists incorporate concerns about virtue, ethics, and happiness into their economic theory? Yes, but this question is more difficult than it appears. The issue is not whether ethics matter, but whether ethics should shape economic models themselves or merely how those models are applied.” (09/17/26)
- Does American theater believe in free expression?
Source: Expression
by Kevin Ray“As theater artists in America, our most prized freedom should be the freedom to express our views, both on stage and off, even if those views are contentious, unpopular, or offensive. How can any artist hope to ignite meaningful thought or feeling if he can’t dare to say what he believes in his heart to be true? While private employers may generally hire and fire at will in New York State, legality is not the only measure of whether speech is truly free: a legal decision can still produce a chilling effect.” (09/17/26)
https://expression.fire.org/p/does-american-theater-believe-in
- America deserves better guidance on how to avoid getting sick
Source: Fox News
by Robert F Kennedy, Jr., US Secretary of Health and Human Services“Prevention should be one of the most powerful tools in American medicine. We should identify disease early, prevent it when we can, and give doctors and patients the best evidence to make decisions about their health. Today, we are strengthening one of the institutions charged with doing exactly that. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, announced the appointment of eight new members of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. We are reforming and refocusing the Task Force to strengthen scientific rigor, broaden clinical expertise, and improve the recommendations that inform preventive care across America. The Task Force carries enormous responsibility. Its recommendations influence how doctors screen for disease, how patients make decisions about preventive care, and how our country evaluates the evidence behind preventive medicine.” (09/17/26)
- English Departments Have Lost the Plot
Source: Persuasion
by Henry Oliver“The problem with the Princeton syllabus is not the individual courses. Fine, study socialism and Sondheim! The problem is the overall balance. These courses are all held in equal regard. The problem is the lack of insistence upon the canonical works of English. The problem is contemporary fiction instead of Shakespeare, dolls instead of George Eliot. Of the twelve courses you take as an English major, none is obliged to be on Shakespeare, Chaucer, Milton, Wordsworth—authors our grandmothers might have read as school-leavers. Yes, the syllabus is ideological, but it is also just lame.” (09/17/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/students-read-the-canon-first
- Breaking: DA demands DNA from Chris Duncan and Haley Oliveaux’s mother
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko“Louisiana continues to persecute a wrongly convicted man.” (09/17/26)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/breaking-da-demands-dna-from-chris
- EU and Canada pursue a values-based alliance
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“Canada clearly has no intention of allowing itself to become the United States’ 51st state. But it might be willing to consider becoming the 28th state to join the European Union. Sort of. On Wednesday, Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission, invited the U.S.’s northern neighbor to join the 27-nation bloc – the world’s third-largest economy – as an ‘associate member’. Her reasoning? ‘We share one ocean, one set of values, one way of seeing the world’, Ms. von der Leyen declared. ‘We believe that power does not belong to the strongest, the richest or the loudest – but to all of us. That democracies have the freedom to choose with whom to work.’ Such a partnership, she was careful to note, is ‘not against anyone else, but for our common strength’.” (09/16/26)
- Trump loves to throw around taxpayers’ money
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jackie Calmes“Trump has turned much of historical Republican orthodoxy on its head, including on immigration, trade and policy toward Russia. But his utter disregard for annual deficits — a record $2 trillion for this fiscal year that ends Sept. 30 — and his shameful profligacy with taxpayers’ money is something Americans haven’t seen in their lifetimes, in either party. Worse, Trump implies otherwise, that he is fiscally responsible, and he does it with lies that are so easily refuted, so often contradicted by his own words, that it’s a marvel that even such a chronic prevaricator as himself can utter them.” (09/17/26)
- “F— Around and Find Out”: Krasner Referred to US Attorney for Criminal Investigation
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has long been to the law what Philly fans are to football: they are simply willing to do things that others will not do. While Philly fans are known for taking their demonstrations to shocking levels, Krasner has long denounced adversaries as Nazis and pledged to arrest federal immigration officials. However, a federal judge has finally had enough of the anger and antics that have long been the special brand of Philadelphia’s top prosecutor. For full disclosure, Krasner and I went to college together at the University of Chicago in the same class in the 1980s. Since then, we have debated and disagreed on fundamental legal and ethical principles.” (09/17/26)
- By Nearly Every Metric, the US Is Losing the Iran War
Source: Foreign Policy
by John Haltiwanger“The United States has had military successes in the war, but, overall, the conflict has been a strategic disaster for Washington. The fighting has exposed serious vulnerabilities for the U.S. military and left its forces spread thin, cost the United States an estimated $38.1 billion so far, and caused a global energy crisis. The war is extremely unpopular with American voters, and a growing number of Republicans in Congress are voting in favor of ending the conflict; one GOP congressman has even moved to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the war. But for all of those costs, the United States has achieved very little in Iran—and in some cases, things have gotten worse.” (09/17/260
- Fast Conservation
Source: Property and Environment Research Center
by Sophie Gilbert, Danielle Bissett, & Tim Male“Rome was not built in a day, but a beaver dam can be. Nature’s engineers can build durable dams very quickly, and maintain them over time too, slowing down (not blocking) and storing water, allowing sediment to settle, and even mitigating wildfire risk. … It can take years for people to build a so-called beaver dam analogue, not because it’s complicated—it’s not; some practitioners call it ‘putting sticks in a creek,’ which is pretty accurate—but because it requires a slew of permits from different agencies that can take years.” (09/17/26)
- Mail-In Voting “Safe” for Now; Let’s Act to Protect Our Elections for Always
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
by Michael Waldman“Voters had a big win at the Supreme Court this week. What does it all mean? On Monday, the court refused to allow the Postal Service to implement a new rule that would have curbed mail voting. But the one-paragraph ruling seemed to say more than ‘not yet’. The Trump administration, the justices ruled, was ‘unlikely to succeed on the merits’. This was great news for the millions of citizens who rely on mail voting, the method now used by 1 in 3 voters. It was utterly bonkers that the White House tried to exert control over the election system. That’s illegal, a fact now confirmed over and over.” [editor’s note: So this Dramacrat advocacy group sees nothing wrong with mailing ballots to everyone who WAS once registered, regardless of current status, so ballot harvesting becomes the norm? – SAT] [additional editor’s note: So SAT is now a practitioner of the tactic of putting a question mark after a false claim so as to pretend that it’s a question instead of just a false claim. Sad! – TLK] (09/17/26)
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/toward-more-representative-government
- A Wasted Legal Mind In Laredo, Texas
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“We are familiar with many of the consequences of the drug-war racket: drug cartels, drug-war violence, overcrowded prisons, no-knock raids, racist enforcement, civil-asset forfeiture, mandatory minimum sentences, and massive destruction of civil liberties and privacy. But there is another consequence that comes with this racket: Many federal judges have ended up wasting a large part of their lives presiding over meaningless legal cases. One of the best examples of this phenomenon involved a brilliant lawyer named George Kazen who practiced law in my hometown of Laredo, Texas, where I practiced law for some eight years in partnership with my father.” (09/17/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/09/17/a-wasted-legal-mind-in-laredo-texas/
- What Lessons Can We Learn from Wendell Berry?
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Renaud Beauchard“Wendell Berry died on August 31 at his farm in Port Royal, Kentucky. He was 92. For more than half a century he farmed with horses, wrote in pencil, adamantly refused to purchase a computer, and insisted that the health of a person cannot be separated from the health of a place. That faithfulness to a place is the part of his thought that the health freedom movement most needs now.” (09/17/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/what-lessons-can-we-learn-from-wendell-berry/
- The Graveyard of Eastern European Socialism
Source: Foundation for Econommic Education
by Alex Tokarev & Kristin Tokarev“On October 12, 1960, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev pounded his shoe on the podium during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, yelling at the capitalist countries: ‘We [the socialists] will bury you!’ Within 30 years, socialism, not capitalism, was dead and buried in Eastern Europe. The USSR disappeared from the maps. Why was the Russian leader so confident in the victory of Marxism? Why was his prediction so wrong? The answer lies in the nature of socialism as a way to organize production and exchange. Capitalism relies on entrepreneurial profit-seeking and market price signals. Socialism relies on benevolent controls and the wisdom of experts.” (09/17/26)
https://fee.org/articles/the-graveyard-of-eastern-european-socialism/
- The “Modern-Day Lynching” Hoax, and the Elephant in the Room
Source: Town Hall
by Larry Elder“Nearly 60 Democratic members of Congress signed a letter to sound an alarm: black Americans are being found hanging, including some from trees, in a wave of possible ‘modern-day lynchings’. Their letter to the Justice Department and FBI stated, ‘The series of deaths raise significant suspicion of foul play given the role of lynching in our nation’s history’. Democrat Rep. Ayanna Pressley (MA-7) called it a ‘national crisis’. Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), who signed the letter, tweeted about ‘widespread modern-day lynchings’ and ‘racial terror’. Every suspicious death deserves investigation. But history is not evidence. What are the facts?” (09/17/26)
- Who Gets To Say ‘Genocide’ in Britain?
Source: Antiwar.com
by Richard Edain“The United Kingdom criminalized support for the direct action network, Palestine Action, at a minute after midnight, Saturday July 5, 2025. Hours later, Pink Floyd star Roger Waters shared a video clip to his Facebook page of him writing on a piece of cardboard, the words: ‘I support Palestine Action …’ Waters then declared ‘I am Spartacus,’ – invoking George Monbiot’s take on the ban from a week before. The day after, UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) reported him to British Counter-Terrorism Police for ‘expressing support for the newly proscribed Palestine Action.’ Around the same time the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) threatened to file a private prosecution if the authorities did not take action. But since that day, nothing has happened to Waters. No charge. No case against him. Over a year has gone by now, and still – no charge filed. The Filton Four are appealing their sentences.” (09/17/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/richard_edain/2026/09/16/who-gets-to-say-genocide-in-britain/
- The Theology of Liberalism
Source: Law & Liberty
by Alex Hibbs“A new intellectual history of liberalism lays bare the ideology’s theological foundations.” (09/17/26)
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-theology-of-liberalism/
- With Mideast on fire, oil prices are poised to explode
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Karthik Sankaran“Damage to a crucial Saudi pipeline has forced Riyadh to delay shipments to Europe, possibly into November.” (09/17/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/oil-pipeline-saudi-arabia/
- The Case for a Shadow Court
Source: Washington Monthly
by Garrett Epps“Our constitutional system is being torn asunder. Enter an intriguing idea from a great legal mind.” (09/17/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/09/17/the-case-for-a-shadow-court/
- The Battle for the Future of Space
Source: The Daily Economy
by Paul McDonnold“Rainer Zitelmann’s ‘Space Capitalism’ argues that property rights and free markets — not government control — will determine whether humanity’s next great frontier becomes a thriving commercial enterprise.” (09/17/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/the-battle-for-the-future-of-space/
- Living in Fiscal Fantasyland
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann“Trillions in deficits have pushed US national debt interest payments to record highs.” (09/16/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/09/16/living-fiscal-fantasyland/
- Trump’s Attorney General Todd Blanche Proves an Incompetent Fool
Source: Common Dreams
by Stephen R Weissman“In May 2024, a New York City jury convicted Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump of 34 felonies of falsifying business records with an intent to defraud, including an intent to ‘commit, aid, or conceal another crime’. Days earlier, Justice Juan Merchan had convened counsel for a pre-charge conference to discuss their recommendations for jury instructions. There, Trump’s defense team, led by Todd Blanche, failed to propose a key legal requirement for what the prosecution called the ‘most obvious’ other crime: conspiracy to promote an election through the ‘unlawful means’ of violating Federal Election Campaign Act contribution limits. Under reigning federal precedents, there could be no criminal violation of FECA unless the conduct was ‘willful’ (defined as ‘knowing it was unlawful’). Yet the defense put forth the term ‘willfully’ without saying what it meant!” (09/17/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/todd-blanche-incompetent
- A logical point about the slavery reparations movement
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall“As is usual when someone details the vileness of slavery we get the claim that, well, it financed the current richness of the world: ‘That complicity helped shape modern Britain, Lester said. Plantation profits helped fuel the Industrial Revolution, railways, public health, welfare, universities, schools, church building and the public finances.’ Therefore everyone who benefits from the current richness of the world must cough up trillions to compensate. We do not agree with the base claim, obviously. Everywhere had slavery and only the one place had that first Industrial Revolution. It’s therefore not slavery that was the special spark that triggered the IR: QED. But, OK, let us accept the point in order to be able to explore it. Slavery did lead to the richness of the modern world. That means that anyone in this modern world benefitted from slavery.” (09/17/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/a-logical-point-about-the-slavery-reparations-movement
- Paying Excellent Teachers to Serve High-Need Schools
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Avery Frank“Missouri has a teacher shortage. Just ask anyone. Except the actual teacher shortage problem is different from what many people assume. In our new paper on Missouri’s teacher pipeline, James Shuls and I show that the state’s teacher labor market does not indicate a broad shortage of teachers. Since 2013, Missouri has hired 4,000 teachers while public school enrollment has fallen by almost 30,000 students. The shortage pressure appears to be coming from specific high-need subject areas and schools.” (09/16/26)
- Destruction of Saudi Pipelines Bring Us From Crisis to Catastrophe
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Kyle Anzalone“The war in the Middle East keeps getting worse for President Donald Trump. The campaign to defeat Iran and establish a new order in the Middle East that left Tehran’s allies marginalized has imploded spectacularly. … ‘Don’t worry,’ politicians and war hawks told Americans, ‘Trump has a winning strategy.’ They argued that the Iranian economy and the Strait of Hormuz really weren’t all that important to the global oil market. They claimed that the ‘panicans’ were alarming their fellow Americans over nothing. ‘Sure, oil can’t get through the Strait of Hormuz, but Saudi Arabia can pump the oil to the Red Sea via its East-West pipeline.’ However, that plan literally went up in smoke last week.” (09/27/26)
- Why Everyone Is Saying AI Could Kill Us All
Source: Persuasion
by Matt Lutz“It’s reasonable to ask how AI might kill us all. We can answer that question on several levels. At the first level, AI can kill humans in the same way that humans kill humans. AI is already being used in lethal ways …. At a second level, we should remember that AI is native to computer systems; that’s where it lives. And these computer systems are increasingly in charge of everything that we do. … But at the highest level, none of these details about how AI might kill us matter. The thing that is dangerous about AI is that it could become massively more intelligent than us, and so massively more capable of controlling the environment in any number of ways.” (09/16/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/why-everyone-is-saying-ai-could-kill
- AI Superforecasting Should Transform The FDA
Source: Astral Codex Ten
by Josh Morrison“Pharmaceutical forecasting is untested, and the FDA is a conservative organization. Decision makers would not and should not uproot their usual process in favor of a forecasting-based one. We envision applying forecasting to the FDA gradually, increasing its prominence only after low-commitment applications have visibly succeeded. … This summer, as part of its Operation Trialblazer clinical trial reform initiative, the Trump administration announced a pilot program to speed up phase 1 trials. Incorporating forecasting into that pilot would be a concrete way of implementing this initial stage. The FDA could either employ human forecasters, partner with an AI superforecasting company, or create their own in-house software; results from this first stage would be used to calibrate its effectiveness.” (09/16/26)
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/ai-superforecasting-should-transform
- Iran, the Midterms, and October Surprises
Source: American Greatness
By Victor Davis Hanson“Many narratives swirl around the U.S. war with Iran as the November 3 midterm elections loom. The Left is giddy with confidence that Democrats may take control of Congress. It is therefore planning a circus of impeachments, lawfare, and investigations to neuter the last two years of the Trump administration. High gas prices and the current unpopularity of the Iran conflict, coupled with the historical reality that the president’s party has lost seats in Congress in 39 of the last 41 midterm elections, have convinced Democrats that they could win enough seats to cut off funds for the war. Yet the elections are still seven weeks away, and the sheer number of known unknowns ensures an uncertain outcome. Every side is now gaming the midterms. The Democrats believe the unpopular war can at last halt Trump’s momentum and are already declaring it all but lost. The Iranian theocracy agrees.” (09/17/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/17/iran-the-midterms-and-october-surprises/
- Is a Desperate Trump Trying to Sell Out Ukraine to Get Russia’s Help on Iran?
Source: Independent Institute
by Ivan Eland“A visit by perennial Trump administration negotiators Steven Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, followed immediately by one to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Donald Trump’s claim that a ceasefire in that war is imminent might make critics suspicious of another administration attempt to pressure Ukraine for major concessions to end that bloody war, this time in exchange for a Russian stand-down in helping Iran in the administration’s war with that country. Any such obvious mutually advantageous deal could help both Russia and the United States at Ukraine’s expense.” (09/17/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/09/16/trump-ukraine-russia-iran/
- How Americans lost the power to use their own judgment
Source: Washington Post
by Philip K Howard“The phobia against human judgment is America’s unspoken taboo. As a result, the American state is floundering. The evils of bureaucratic micromanagement include: inability to adapt to new circumstances (sluggish defense procurement), diversion to rule compliance instead of doing the job (doctors and nurses spend half their time on desk work), loss of a sense of individual agency and pride (why bother when drowning in law?) and listless public cultures.” (09/16/26)
- Jefferson’s Liberal Morals
Source: Liberalism.org
by Jeffrey Syck“No one today can think Jefferson to have been morally upright in all that he did. His writings and his work to achieve a liberal society—in some areas—are impossible to reconcile with his enslavement of other human beings, or the particularly cruel ways that he treated them. And yet he stands at the founding of our country. His proudest accomplishments survive, and it falls to us to explain how such a man could contain such contradictions.” (09/16/26)
- Alligator Alcatraz’s Tiny Cages Were Likely Even Tinier
Source: The American Prospect
by Gillian Brockell“The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Homeland Security released a scathing report last Friday about the shuttered Florida concentration camp built on an abandoned airstrip known as ‘Alligator Alcatraz’, concluding the camp failed to meet numerous health and safety standards, and that the use of ‘small metal enclosures’ was ‘unprecedented’ and posed ‘significant risks to detainee health and safety’. The report included photos, taken by OIG inspectors during an “unannounced” visit in January to the camp, showing a phone booth–sized cage set up outdoors under a temporary awning. Staff at the camp euphemistically described the cages as ‘calming areas’ where detainees could ‘reflect on their behavior choices, manage their emotions’ and, they claimed, leave whenever they wanted.” (09/17/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/09/17/alligator-alcatrazs-tiny-cages-were-likely-even-tinier/
- The Political Orphanage, 09/17/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Are we racing toward an AI-powered golden age—or building something we won’t be able to control? Justin Robert Young joins to explore the emerging philosophical divide over artificial intelligence: accelerate innovation and reap potentially enormous benefits, or slow down before we unleash risks we don’t understand. We discuss OpenAI and Anthropic, the politics of AI regulation, competition with China, whether the AI boom is a bubble, the strongest case for the AI doomers, and the possibility that advances in AI could transform medicine, work, and even human aging. Plus: Justin explains why the best way to prepare for the AI revolution is surprisingly simple—start asking it dumb questions.” (09/17/26)
- Libertarian Angle, 09/17/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“America’s Healthcare Morass.” (09/17/26)
- Rising, 09/17/26
Source: The Hill
“Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is under fire after sending House members home early for their recess, which will last until after the midterm elections.” (09/17/26)
https://thehill.com/hilltv/6083816-rising-september-17-2026/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 09/17/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Are America’s Youth Really Embracing Socialism?” (09/17/26)
- Underthrow Podcast, 09/17/26
Source: Underthrow
“Insanity Shouldn’t Cancel a Debt.” (09/17/26)
- Anarcho Agenda, episode 150
Source: Anarcho Agenda
‘9/11 twenty-five years later, a month in the desert, and and I’m cleaning up this show.” (09/17/26)
- The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 09/17/26
Source: The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen
“Constitution Day Special: David Rubenstein on the Declaration at America’s 250th.” (09/17/26)
https://rosenjeffrey.substack.com/p/constitution-day-special-david-rubenstein
- Nonzero, 09/16/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Is the AI ‘Slowdown’ for Real? | Robert Wright & Zvi Mowshowitz.” (09/16/26)
- Show-Me Institute Podcast, 09/17/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“Understanding Missouri’s Teacher Shortage with Avery Frank and James V. Shuls.” (09/17/26)
- The Kyle Anzalone Show, 09/16/26
Source: The Kyle Anzalone Show
“America’s Middle East Crisis Has Become a Catastrophe.” (09/16/26)
- The Moynihan Report, 09/16/26
Source: The Moynihan Report
“Pod Save Us: Jon Lovett on the Left’s Identity Crisis.” (09/16/26)
https://www.themoynihan.report/p/pod-save-us-jon-lovett-on-the-lefts
- Declare Your Independence with Ernest Hancock, 09/17/26
Source: Freedom’s Phoenix
“Charlie Robinson (Macroaggressions Podcast; Activist Post) on his newest book, The Octopus of Population Control, which deals with Eugenics.” (09/17/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 09/16/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Report Says US Held Meeting With Ansar Allah, House Pushes Back Hegseth Impeachment Vote, and More.” (09/16/26)
- Abigail R. Hall discusses government surveillance on WHAS Radio’s The Leland Conway Show
Source: Blulegrass Institute
“Abigail R. Hall discusses her op-ed, ‘Flock cameras aren’t ‘compromise;’ they’re gross overreach.'” (09/16/26)
- The Science of Politics, 09/16/26
Source: Niskanen Center
“Do boots and a truck make candidates Republican?” (09/16/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/do-boots-and-a-truck-make-candidates-republican
- Kibbe on Liberty, episode 404
Source: Free the People
“Gamifying Civics to Promote Liberty | Guest: Daniel ‘Free’ O’Connell.” (09/16/26)
- TAC Right Now, 09/16/26
Source: The American Conservative
“Curt Mills, Andrew Day, and Luke Nicastro discuss growing concerns about AI and whether the regulation cure would be worse than the AI-risk disease. Then, they discuss the Iran War’s impact on inflation and the political implications heading into the midterms.” (09/16/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/tac-right-now-the-rights-fight-over-ai/
- Kelley Vlahos on Liberty Pub Live
Source: Liberty Pub Live
“Kelley Vlahos joins Matt Kibbe LIVE at PubKey DC for an unfiltered conversation.” (09/16/26)
- Reason Interview: Peter Gray
Source: Reason
“Psychologist Peter Gray discusses why kids need more unstructured play, how schools are fueling childhood anxiety, and why smartphones aren’t to blame.” (09/16/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/09/16/why-kids-need-more-freedom/
- Reasonably Optimistic, 09/16/26
Source: Washington Post
“Artificial intelligence is advancing faster than many expected. So much so that some of the experts who understand it best are sounding the alarm. Are their warnings exaggerated, or are we approaching a point of no return? And what can we do now to shape the future of artificial intelligence? Host Megan McArdle is joined by Tim Lee, author of the Understanding AI newsletter, to explore what AI experts fear most, from misinformation and economic disruption to the possibility of losing control of increasingly powerful systems.” (09/16/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/what-ai-experts-fear-most